Wake Up Winnetka!

Ever wonder why nothing seems to get done in Winnetka? (Could we open our beaches, please!)

Who is making decisions around here—and how does the mysterious "Caucus Process" work in 2025?

The truth is it doesn't.

That's why Our Town Winnetka (OTW) is working to demystify the system and encourage more participation. We want to move forward, to address our village's biggest concerns and opportunities.

That's why it was exciting to see a new entrant in Village Council slating process.

A New Candidate

Meet Ryan Harrison, 41: father of three, finance executive, Sacred Heart parent, and seven-year Winnetka resident. Like many before him, Ryan wanted to give back to the town he loves. So he applied to run for Village Trustee.

He got his family's blessing, his work was supportive, and the timing was right.

He knew his skills could help the Village Council, and just as importantly, he'd bring a voice from the 35–45 age group which is currently not represented on the Village Council.

And he did well.

The Slating Committee interviewed seven candidates. They selected Harrison -- along with current Trustees Tina Dahlman and Kim Handler -- to be forwarded to the entire Caucus Council as the Village Council Slate.

The Slating Committee got it right.

Enter the Incumbent

Rob Apatoff, longtime Village Trustee, had also interviewed, but the Slating Committee decided not to choose him for re-nomination.

That all being done, at the September 17 Caucus Council full meeting, Apatoff was nominated from the floor.

What the Caucus Is Supposed to Do

At the September 17th Meeting, the full caucus council's of 65 volunteers are supposed to vote on the slate, which will then be presented to the community at the October 8 town hall.

In other words, 65 residents narrow the choices the rest of us get to vote on.

Each year, the caucus makes two key decisions, voting to:

• Adopt a platform based on the annual resident survey and committee discussions.
• Endorse candidates for our four governing boards—Village Council, Schools, Parks, and Library.

This year, only one slating committee operated—for the Village Council, with three open seats.

The Meeting That Went Sideways

Here's where the process broke down.

To start, only 41 of the 65 of the Caucus members attended—meaning a smaller-than-intended group decided who would (and wouldn't) appear on Winnetka's Village Council Slate ahead of the Town Hall.

And when offered the option to 'proxy vote' -- after a long email pro/con discussion -- only 5 chose to submit proxy ballots.

Why the low turnout?

Most likely because the meeting was scheduled on one of the busiest school nights of the year: there were back-to-school events at Skokie and Sacred Heart. Parents with young kids—exactly the demographic Ryan represented—were tied up.

But that's the problem. There isn't careful forethought given to the challenges of young families. The effect was clear: poor turnout, weakened representation, and major consequences for the village.

The About-Face

At the two-thirds attended meeting, something unexpected happened.

All four candidates spoke in order of slating by the subcommittee recommendation — Dahlman, Handler, Harrison — and then Apatoff. Each spoke briefly and answered questions.

Then the sparsely-attended caucus reversed course: voting in Dahlman and Handler, and then backing Apatoff over Harrison by 6 votes for the third and final slot.

Why This Matters

We'll never know how the full caucus would have voted. What we do know is this: the full caucus wasn't there. And that matters.

But the real problem is we are about to get more of the same.

The same lack of progress regarding commercial development, beach access, energy policy, property rights, the Post Office redevelopment, taxes.

If we don't participate -- and make accessibility a priority -- we will keep doing things the way they've always been done: going through the motions and running in circles.

Time for Change

This isn't about Caucus Members who missed the meeting. Life is busy, especially for families.

The system isn't broken because people don't care. It's broken because our village process of governance doesn't match the times.

If you want things to be different, the Town Hall is your opportunity to show up and vote.

If we want to solve our village's biggest challenges, with BIG IDEAS, that's where we need to start.

Correction: In an earlier version, Our Town Winnetka stated that Mr. Apatoff was not offered a position as an alternative, but he was. We regret the error.